The Sun News' staff received 22 awards, including six first-place honors, Friday at the S.C. Press Association's annual awards dinner at The Hyatt in Greenville.

The newspaper was named second in general excellence in its circulation category and was top in that category for the Hurricane Katrina Best Overall Coverage award.

The Sun News' submissions were judged against all other daily newspapers in the state in some contests and against those with circulation of 26,001 to 80,000 in other contests.

The newspaper's writers, photographers and designers also were honored for their work in news and sports reporting, writing and photography, as well as photo and graphic illustrations and page designs.

Also Friday, the S.C. Press Association elected Jerry Bellune, editor of the Lexington County Chronicle and The Dispatch-News, to be president. Bellune succeeds Steven R. Brandt, publisher of The Greenville News.

Other officers elected were Carl Beck, executive editor of the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, as vice president for daily newspapers; Taylor Smith, publisher of The Press and Standard in Walterboro, as vice president for weekly newspapers; and Harry Logan, editor of the Florence Morning News, as treasurer.

Elected to the association's executive committee was Tonnya Kennedy Kohn, managing editor of The (Columbia) State.

Re-elected for continuing terms on the executive committee were Andrew Babb, president of Mid-South Management Corp. in Spartanburg; Cleve Dowell, publisher of The Manning Times; Dan Herres, president of the Evening Post Community Publications Group in Charleston; Trisha O'Connor, executive editor of The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News; and Susan Rowell, publisher of The Lancaster News.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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